Free The One Tree of Luna by Todd McCaffrey

in mind. Tanuro’s quick scan of the boy’s records portrayed a loving childhood which was shattered by his birth-parents’ divorce when he was fourteen. At fourteen — no coincidence — he tried to commit suicide. His school records displayed the decline in grades Tanuro associated with an increasingly bitter and depressed youth. At age eighteen, Chris was allowed to know the identity of the egg donor.
    The egg donor was the famous hero and astronaut, Amanda Brown.
    Tanuro tapped into the UN population database and waited while it determined the location of Christopher Halleck, aged eighteen.
    â€œIt’s alright, there’s nothing to worry about,” Annogi’s voice piped up over the security channel. Tanuro frowned, wondering why his adopted daughter would so wantonly flaunt station protocols — he had taught her better.
    Tanuro’s eyes widened in sudden apprehension — he had taught her better.
    â€œSecurity Alert Level One,” Tanuro announced softly, raising the safety guard on a button that he never expected to use and pressing down upon the button.
    â€œThe station is under attack,” he added. Tanuro swallowed hard and took a deep steadying breath. Annogi was his daughter; he knew her, he heard the message in her words and knew that she had told him that there was nothing to worry about. He would trust her.
    â€œAn agent is in place and will affect apprehension.”
    An agent. His daughter.
    Tanuro took another deep steadying breath, forcing his heart to calm down, telling himself that his panic would do nothing for his daughter — for Amanda Brown’s daughter — yet all the while memories of Amanda’s death, toddler Annogi’s screams and Tanuro’s breaking heart pounded inside his skull.
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    Chris Halleck jumped when the flashing alert light strobed and the alert sounded.
    â€œIt’s alright, there’s nothing to worry about,” Annogi said both to him and to her open station microphone.
    â€œWhat is it?” he demanded, his voice harsh, breath jagged.
    â€œSecurity test,” Annogi replied calmly. She glanced over at the hatch and saw that it was closing. She looked back at the teen, hiding her relief in another question, “Do you have the time?”
    When the blond boy looked at her incredulously, Annogi continued, “They do random tests but I’ve been trying to find a pattern.”
    â€œA pattern?” the boy repeated dully.
    â€œSure,” Annogi replied with a shrug. “I’d like to avoid getting caught out when there’s a test going on.” She gave the boy a conspiratorial look and leaned closer, whispering innocently, “Sometimes I like to sneak away from my father. With these security tests, he notices when I’m missing.
    â€œI don’t like to get in trouble, do you?” she finished, looking right up into his eyes.
    Reluctantly Chris shook his head.
    Annogi smiled at him. Her smile was genuine, she was well within his reach, well within the arc of any axe swing. The teen would now have to step back if he wanted to strike at her, a motion which would give Annogi plenty of advance warning. In fact, anything the teen might want to do with the axe would require him first to move away from her.
    â€œIs this your first time on the station?” Annogi asked, glancing toward the flashing lights.
    Chris nodded.
    â€œI figured,” Annogi said. “They run the tests so often that even regular tourists notice pretty quick.”
    â€œThey do?”
    â€œSure,” Annogi said, gesturing to the ports on the outer edge of the Observation Room. “Space
     is right there and you never know when there might be another accident —”
    â€œThis is where Amanda Brown died, isn’t it?” Chris asked suddenly, staring around at the pictures lining the walls.
    The question startled Annogi. She nodded reflexively. Chris’ jaw tightened at